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Fugitive ex-diplomat's petition against FCID to be taken up on 29 December
Tue, Dec 5, 2017, 04:01 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Dec 05, Colombo: The Supreme Court today named a three-judge bench to hear the fundamental rights petition filed on behalf of the former ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga against the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID).

Supreme Court Justices Buwaneka Aluvihare, Sisira de Abrew and Nalin Perera were named to the three-judge bench to hear the petition when it was taken up today before the Supreme Court Justice Sisira de Abrew.
Accordingly, the petition will be heard on the 29th of this month.

The petition also requested the court to issue a ruling stating that Udayanga Weeratunga's fundamental rights have been violated and to revoke the ban on his bank accounts.

The courts suspended 16 banks accounts of Weeratunga in January 2017 due to allegations of fraud in the purchase of Mig-27 fighters.

Weeratunga, who is a relative of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, is alleged to have committed financial misappropriation to the tune of US$ 14 million while purchasing four Ukraine-built MIG-27 aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2005.

The FCID) investigations had revealed that funds amounting to US$1.5 million had been deposited at various times to 16 accounts belonging to him at two private banks and few of Weeratunga's bank accounts have received funds from Panama and Latvia.